


Countdown

by Nigamiestmajeur_e



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Other, Season/Series 07 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24899815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigamiestmajeur_e/pseuds/Nigamiestmajeur_e
Summary: 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1...
Kudos: 27





	Countdown

9\.   
The first officer Jake Peralta imagined was Charles. Of course it was Charles. He was everything Jake forbad himself to be. Kind, soft, open with his feelings. Sure to be a great dad. It wasn't like Jake hated that, but... just... you know... it didn't match with the image of the cool detective Jake wanted to be. So every night, after his favorite show, Jake spent twenty minutes to daydream about what he could be when he'll grow up. And he imagined Charles. His mate, soulmate, other half. An unstoppable duo. Gosh, Gina would hate him.

8.  
Oh yeah, he should bring Gina in. She was her best friend after all. REAL best friend, obviously. He couldn't think of him having a future without her, so she would have to work with the precinct. But real Gina would hate to be an officer... Because of the uniform. He couldn't imagine Gina with an uniform as colorless as a school report. Oh yeah, an administrator ! An assistant ! The kind of person who could give opinions and who wasn't disposable. Gina, the only, the best. She wasn't definitely going to work every day. But when she was there, there were glitters.

7.  
Then, Jake started to imagine Rosa. Rosa. She was strong, she was fierce. And she was hiding a secret... She loved boys and girls. Jake loved the fact that she loved boys and girls. It wasn't the only reason he loved that character he created but... well... to put it simply... Being around someone, even imaginary, who was like him... loving boys and girls... it made him feel less weird. Also, she had an axe in her bag, because she was badass. She was a cop after all, she could do whatever she wanted. Not to mention she could kick some butts with high heels.

6.  
After he watched X-Files, Jake wanted to have a character that was named Scully. With a normal name. Because he had no idea how that character would be. Then, little by little, Jake invented a strange life with wife, children, dog, medical conditions that often surprised him more than anything. Norm wasn't interesting except when he was doing something stupid. Or when an opera was on TV one night and Jake decided Norm knew how to sing that way. Or when a French movie was on TV one night and Jake decided Norm knew how to speak french. Or when a spy movie was on TV one night and Jake decided Norm knew Morse code... Anyway, Scully was born thanks to the TV.

5.  
One night, "Rear Window" was on TV. Jake loved it, fascinated for a reason he never understood. So, he created a mate for Scully : Hitchcock. If Scully was stupid all alone, his IQ dropped incredibly when Hitchcock came. And together they were just... To be honest Jake was inspired by two kids he saw in the kinder-garden. One day, one of the boys swallowed his goldfish and it was definitely something Hitchcock would do. Still, he had the all-time record for closed cases because he was a very good detective. Jake would sometime wonder if Hitchcock was who he could be as an older man. He hoped not.

4.  
Amy Santiago. The most beautiful woman. And the smartest too. She was like, Topanga Lawrence smart. Jake imagined her based on that girl in his class. She was so pretty. She was, yeah, she was Jake's crush and of course he imagined her in his cop-fantasy future. Don't blame him, he was 11. And she was as gorgeous as she was clever. Jake took a lot of time to realize how awesome she was and how smitten he was, so at first he thought of a older version of her only to annoy her. The girl in his class had cuban descent, so Amy Santiago was too. But then, Adult Jake fell in love with Amy. Adult Jake kissed Amy. Adult Jake married Amy. Adult Jake had a baby with Amy. And the baby was named Mac, like his favorite character. Yeah. That was so cool.

3.  
At 12, his imaginary team was almost finished. Until the new neighbors moved in. It was a Black family, the mum, the dad, and the three children, three girls. The dad was as muscular as a wrestler but every time Jake saw him playing with his girls in the garden, he was as sweet as Grover from Sesame Street. He became a Sergeant, and later a Lieutenant, inside Jake's head. Terry loved his daughters. Terry loved his work. And Terry loved his yogurt. Jake never saw his neighbor eating yogurt but he could definitely see Terry eating it more than he could see Hitchcock eating a sandwich.

2.  
One day, the father of his neighbor came. He was also Black. He had an amazing posture and a straight face, like nothing could bother him. Jake was looking at them out of his window, spying them like the kid he was. And he watched the big strong man hugging his father, and the cold-looking father hugging him back, and Jake felt angry and sad and disappointed because his father wasn't like this. He wasn't dignified, worthy of anything, he didn't own Jake's respect because the only thing he owned was his record of affairs. He wasn't the kind of person Jake would look up to, especially since he wasn't a police officer. So Jake created Raymond Holt, his role model. An imaginary role model, since no one in his life was good enough for it.

1.  
Jake Peralta spent many years imagining his adventures as Detective Peralta in the imaginary 99th precinct. His team was awesome, funny, and diverse. Their captain was black and gay (Jake didn't want Rosa to be alone) and no one in the team had a problem with that. They respected the law and were doing everything to protect every citizens. They were cops, after all. They captured the bad guys and released the good guys. They were helping every one and were stopping those who used their rank to do evil. They were always doing the right thing. They were heroes. It was so cool. Jake even invented a opening credits for their adventures, like... Palapa palaaaaaa... and then there was a little bit of bass ? It was so cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool.

0.  
The cops came.   
Jake saw the red and blue lights shining through the window, flashing against the darkness of the night. Scared but mostly excited, Jake watched from inside his house, kneeling on his sofa, in front of the neighbors's home.   
The cops came.  
They were two. Two white (white-white-white-white-white) men, and hey they looked like how Jake imagined himself as an adult with his uniform yeah they had the blue uniform ! They looked so cool.  
The cops came.  
It was too dark and too far away to see their faces clearly but Jake couldn't help but imagine Adult Jake and Charles in their places. Couldn't help but imagine Jake calling Gina before this case, couldn't help but imagine Charles looking forward to tuck up Nikolaj. Couldn't help but imagine Rosa in vacation with her girlfriend, Scully and Hitchcock eating in a restaurant, couldn't help but imagine Amy waiting for him with the baby in their house. Couldn't help but imagine Terry finishing his yogurt at his desk. Couldn't help but imagine Holt smiling.  
The cops came.  
They didn't knock at the door. They had a... Jake knew what it was called... a battering ram ! Yeah, they used a battering ram. He could imagine Charles using the battering ram, failing the first time because he was so clumsy, then doing it a second time, and Adult Jake would enter the home to save whoever needed to be saved. The neighbors probably had problems, and Jake hoped they were alright. The mum, the dad, and the three children, three girls. But of course they were alright. The police was here.  
The cops came.  
And then.   
Jake heard shots. Seven. Jake's heart stopped beating. Jake was 14 years old. Jake watched a lot of action movies, but never realized how much the sound of gunshots was terrifying in real life. Jake saw cops leaving the house, guns still on their hands. Jake watched a lot of action movies, but never realized how much guns were terrifying in real life.   
The cops.  
Blue lights arrived, the ambulance, and then the gurney. Jake watched a lot of action movies, knew what that white sheet meant. But never realized how much seeing a hand uncovered was terrifying in real life. A hand, even if it was too dark and too far away, that Jake recognized. A hand with dark skin and a wedding ring. The mum was screaming, crying on the entry porch.   
The cops.  
The cops were there, with their patches on their shoulders. With their medals on their chest. With their guns around their waist. They almost looked calm but someone was dead, SOMEONE WAS DEAD. Nobody died in Jake's fantasy... A fantasy... A fantasy he hoped would be his future. He would have a future. His neighbor wouldn't. And the cops were talking with the paramedic like they were ordering coffee. While the mum was screaming, crying on the entry porch.  
No. Stop. No. No no no no no.  
It didn't make sense. It didn't make sense at all.  
She didn't look in danger. She was sad. She was angry. Against the cops. Why should someone innocent be angry at cops ? The cops weren't supposed to kill a good person. The cops weren't supposed to kill at all. The cops were heroes. The cops are heroes. The cops are Jake's models. The cops are awesome, funny, and diverse. They respect the law and are doing everything to protect every citizens. They capture the bad guys and release the good guys. They are helping every one and are stopping those who use their rank to do evil. They are always doing the right thing. They are heroes.  
...  
... Right ?


End file.
